Stunning work by writer and director Julien Lascar for Parisian indie rock outfit FIDJI. “Whispers In The Wind” follows a young woman grappling with the sudden loss of her lover. There are so many great shots and fantastic use of surreal effects, we were surprised to learn this is a video filled with “firsts.” Not only is it the debut song for FIDJI, it’s Lascar’s first time directing a music video!

As he shared with us, Lascar initially approached the project with a very clear narrative. Once that was in place he completely tore it apart, keeping only the most essential elements, leaving the rest as vague as possible to allow people to come up with their own interpretations. His biggest challenge was actually finding his lead actress, a search which ended with yet another first:

“I couldn’t find the girl for the story that would go well with Jean Baptiste (the lead actor) but thanks to Instagram I met Salomé which was also a first time for her as an actress and I think she was really great in it!”

We couldn’t agree more! Check out “Whispers In The Wind” above as well as some fun behind-the-scenes shots from the two day shoot below.

Written and directed by Julien Lascar
Music written and performed by FIDJI

Starring: Salomé Walbrou and Jean Baptiste Sagory

Production company: Blue Okapi
1st Director Assistant: Tiffanie Duveau
Director of photography: Franck Brett
Executive producer: Diane Courtois/Julien Lascar
Producer: Samy Adjemi
Wardrobe stylist: Indiana Loessin
Make-up and hair: Stephanie Clerc
1sr assistant camera: Maeva Von Dinh (Jour 1) Elim Nivière (Jour 2)
Gaffer: Coraline Bennetti
Sound design: Julien Lascar
Sound mix: Fidji
Editing: Camille Grateau
Colour: Sylvain Canaux

Julien Lascar’s Website

FIDJI on Facebook

A unique video for Bicep by London-based filmmaker Joe Wilson. Featuring a series of landscape shots of old rave sites, “Glue” pays homage to the lost (but not forgotten) era. Really enjoy the interspersed text, which are actually quotes taken from Youtube comment sections of songs from the genre.

Film by Joe Wilson
Executive Producers: Saskia Whinney & Freddie Fraser-Forsyth
Producer: Carla Steinberg
Production Company: TOPSAFE
Camera Assistants: Corey Bartle-Sanderson, Lottie Bea Spencer, Holly Lucas
Colourist: Myles Bevan at Time Based Arts
Typography: Studio Terrasse

A beautiful and heartbreaking portrait of 78 year old surgeon Firoze Koytcha by director Arthur Valverde (previously featured here). “A Drop in the Ocean” features Koytcha’s thoughts on life and faith after leading humanitarian missions for over 40 years. Warning: Some viewers may be sensitive to the content.

Directed by Arthur Valverde
Director of photography Jean Michel Poulichot
Sound operator / Assistant production : Thomas Briant Macgregor
Equipment : Xavier Roy @Froggie production
Edited by Arthur Valverde
Colorist : Adrian Seery
Subtitles : Jenny Briant Macgregor – Cedric Rakotomalala
Music composed by Thomas Valverde
Cello by Sebastian Van Kuijk
Mixed by Shawn Berry

This is just some of the wonderful work we’ve received this week. Consider submitting here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

Los Angeles-based director and VFX artist Joshua Guillaume creates a quiet digital landscape for London-based composer William Arcane’s track “Awakening.”

A young man finds himself relentlessly pursued by mysterious forces in this video for Isador’s track “Falling.” Co-directed by New York-based artist Warren Heller (aka Isador) and his brother Charlie Heller, the project is a deeply personal one for Isador, who also stars as the hapless figure. The song explores feelings of powerlessness and fear of the future, and was written after Isador dropped out of college. As he shared with us:

“The concept comes out of my upbringing, where I felt immense pressure to follow a path already set for myself and my life. In the video, any attempt to escape is met with the world fracturing to catch me again, and when I do break free, I don’t know where to go.”

Directed by Isador and Charlie Heller
Director of Photography: Sam Cutler-Kreutz
AD: Kobe Lewin
Crew:
Sam Hersey
Sofie Hiltner
Dillon Cummings
Greg Finch
Michael Simon
Miranda Alperstein
Carey Camel
Ashwin Prasanna
Nick Steidel
Elliot Golden
Tom Cacciola
Kyle Berlin
Billy Heller

This is just some of the excellent work we’ve received this week. Consider submitting here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

An animated short about the European treatment of refugees by Swiss artist Fabio Friedli.

Script & Director: Fabio Friedli
Animation: Nils Hedinger, Martin Waespe, Fabio Friedli
Starring: Linford Boateng, Nik Rechsteiner
DOP & Light: Janosch Abel
Sounddesign & Mix: Thomas Gassmann
Foley: Dieter Hebben
Production: Gerd Gockel, HSLU Design & Kunst, Animation

Gorgeous cinematography in the video for MAREY’s track “The Story of the Broken Cake” about a silver medallist, tortured by thoughts of what could have been. Having lost sleep over wasted opportunities himself, London-based director Tim Keeling wanted to explore the masochistic nature of this behaviour and question why we do this to ourselves — “What is it all for?” There were no doubt times when the small cast and crew found themselves wondering the same thing. As Keeling shared with us about the labour-intensive shoot (which involved multiple locations in South-East England):

“The effects and stunts were achieved in-camera, with the exception of the firey abyss shot, which builds on a plate we filmed at a popular climber’s crag called Bull’s Hollow. The dragging shots were achieved by wrapping actor Luke McGibney’s legs in tarpaulin and crew members took it in turns to drag him across different terrain for 1½ hours. He rang me the next morning, ‘Tim, you’ve broken me.'”

At least, in this case, their torture was well worth it! Check out “The Story of the Broken Cake” above and full credits below.

Director: Tim Keeling
DP: Chris Lee
Production: One Films
Stunt team: Paul Storrie, Tom Baxter, William Baxter
Focus Puller: Tom McMahon
Camera Assistant: Matt Clegg
Production Assistant: Mia Gregory
Record Label: Deep Dive

Starring: Luke McGibney

Thanks to:
Cal Gordon
Paul Talling
Ken Daniel
Gerry Cryer

Filmed on location at Bull’s Hollow, Groomgridge Place, Normal Park, Leyton Stadium, and Feltham Arena in South England.

A fantastic animation about the paralyzing and disassembling effect of negative emotions by artist and designer Ari Weinkle from Boston, Massachusetts.

Another great portrait by directors Jonas Hegi and Julien Simshauser of Builders Club. Part of a 3-part series made in collaboration with Yves Saint Laurent, Vice and i-D Magazine, this instalment focuses on the creative mind of London based chef Magnus Reid. Really like the visuals of the melding flavours interspersed throughout!

Producer: Rose Darkins
Director: Jonas Hegi & Julien Simshauser (Builders Club)
Creative: Serena Wise
Dop: Tom Elliott
Ac: Marit De Bruijne
Sound Recordist: Donal Sweeney
Gaffer: Martin Kloud M
Spark: Vincent Edwards
Runner / Driver: Michel Bewley

Editor: Paul Frank
Sound Design: Chris Banks
Colorist: Richard Fearon at MPC
CGI: Artist Simone Nunziato

Head of Production: Bree Horn
Exec Producer: Claire Bartolomeo
Production Executive: Vicky Newman
Junior Production Manager: Jess Bishop-laggett
Production Coordinator: Aimee Levick
Supervising Producer: Emma Yuille
Post Production Manager: Frank Piazza
Post Production Coordinator: Danny Robertson
Production Accountant: David Gray

A stunning short by Ireland-born, Vancouver-based animator Eoin Duffy. Well known for blending clean and colourful graphics with dark and complex themes, Duffy’s latest features a mystical traveller in search of the answers to life’s biggest questions, who finds himself in the most unlikely place. If that sounds a bit vague, that’s probably for the best! As Duffy shared with us, it’s “Better to go in blind”:

“Weirdly I struggle to talk about the film out of fear of guiding the viewer’s interpretation. The film has a very specific meaning to me, but I delight in hearing other people’s take away. At each screening I was in awe at the sheer array of break downs, most vastly different from my original intention. So I simply stopped talking about the film, and let others make of it what they will.”

Check out “I Am Here” for yourself above as well as some lovely character explorations below. You should also click here to give Toronto-based composer duo Menalon’s score another listen — it really is beautiful!

Eoin Duffy’s Website

Eoin Duffy on Instagram

Eoin Duffy on Facebook

A nice collaboration between Elder Island and UK-based photographer and filmmaker Nic Kane. Mirroring the electronic trio’s proclivity for analogue, the Super 8 film offers a fleeting window into the band’s personal space, capturing intimate studio moments with a glitchy, nostalgic grain.

Nic Kane’s Website

Nic Kane on Instagram

Elder Island on Facebook

Elder Island on Instagram

Charlotte Gainsbourg’s son, Ben Attal, stars in her self-directed video for “Ring-A-Ring O’ Roses.” Love the way Gainsbourg appears almost like a doppleganger.